Workers walked off the job and marched in cities across the country Tuesday, including Pittsburgh, where a large crowd gathered for an evening rush-hour protest through the streets of downtown.

The group stepped off from its starting point near the federal building at about 4:20 p.m. They proceeded south on Grant Street, turned right onto Sixth Street and headed toward Liberty Avenue, on their way to the McDonald's restaurant on Stanwix Street.

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Nineteen people were arrested during the evening protest, police confirm.

The Service Employees International Union is targeting McDonald's restaurants and UPMC with marches demanding a $15 minimum wage and union representation.

Organizers began their "Day of Disruption" with an early-morning march at McDonald's on Penn Avenue in East Liberty. Demonstrators went inside to voice their demands, then began circling the restaurant outside and chanting slogans like "Hold your burgers, hold your fries. We want wages supersized."

"I want to be able to take care of my family, to take care of myself, to pay bills," McDonald's employee Aaron McCollum said. "You can't possibly do that on $7.25, $7.35 an hour."

The protesters then moved to a McDonald's restaurant on North Euclid Avenue.

"It's about workers, but it's also recognizing that workers are more than who they are in between when they clock in and clock out, but that they're our community members, they're our neighbors, they're humans," said Kai Pang, an organizer with Pittsburgh United. "We should have the right to not only survive but thrive in this city."

"I'm just trying to fight for something that I believe in," McCollum said.

A press release on behalf of the group added, "Giant Eagle workers will also join the Fight for $15 today, asking that the company start paying family-sustaining wages and stop interfering with Giant Eagle employees' right to organize."